Stories About a King

The year was 2015 and Bhutan was preparing to celebrate the 60th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty The Fourth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck on 11th November.

As part of the celebrations, Dechencholing Higher Secondary School in Thimphu had put up large posters of His Majesty outside the school. One morning, to the horror of the staff and students, someone had scribbled graffiti mustaches all over the royal portraits.

Panic spread as the school management scrambled to find the culprit behind what seemed like a grave act of disrespect.

Before matters could escalate, a message arrived through the Royal Body Guards. The culprit was none other than His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo himself.

It was an act so characteristic of His Majesty, to dissolve grandeur and remind people of humility.

Even now, a decade later, as Bhutan prepares for His Majesty’s 70th Birth Anniversary in 2025, the same spirit endures. His Majesty personally instructed that no official celebration committee be formed and that no government funds be spent in his honour. Instead, he directed that any allocated funds be given to JDWNRH Hospital to strengthen public healthcare, a cause that has always been close to his heart.

Yet, despite his reluctance, the nation cannot help but celebrate him quietly, out of deep love and gratitude.

His Majesty’s aversion to personal glorification is well-known. It is not indifference; it is humility born of purpose. The Great Fourth has always lived for his people, never for praise.

While volumes have been written about his reign from 1972 to 2006, a golden era of visionary reforms and nation-building, the man behind the Throne remains, in many ways, an enigma.

Since his abdication, that mystery has only deepened. Yet it is in the small, unrecorded stories of his daily life that the real essence of His Majesty’s greatness shines through.

A King on the Move

After stepping down from the Golden Throne, His Majesty has kept a modest and active routine. He is often seen cycling, walking, or driving around in his familiar two-Hilux convoy, army green, simple, and always without a pilot in front. The vehicles are usually packed, sometimes with Their Majesties the Queen Mothers, aides, and their greying hair attendants. Once, while travelling with family through an Indian highway toward Manas for a rare family holiday, His Majesty insisted on leading the convoy. At every toll gate, he stopped personally to pay the fee for all the cars.

 In Bhutan, the same Hilux often carries footballs, basketballs, and volleyballs. Whenever His Majesty sees children playing by the roadside, he stops, calls them over, and lets them choose a ball to take home, a small gesture that fills young hearts with joy.

He lives simply at Samtenling, occasionally commuting to upper Motithang. When he encounters pilgrims walking toward Phajoding, or Dodedrak he offers them rides in his Hilux.

During a raging fire in Thimphu last year, he personally drove to the highest monastery to ensure everyone was safe.

Even on the road, His Majesty sets an example of humility. His convoy follows every traffic rule, never overtakes, never rushes.

Once, at Chubachu, Thimphu roundabout, when the writer stopped his car to give way to His Majesty’s vehicle, the royal driver motioned for him to go first. In every act, great or small, His Majesty embodies grace, respect, and discipline.

The Healer King

Since retirement, His Majesty has found a unique way to continue serving his people, through his walks and cycling routes across the country. Hundreds of Bhutanese have stories of unexpectedly meeting His Majesty on a trail or roadside.

What begins as a greeting often turns into a remarkable encounter, His Majesty diagnosing an ailment just by looking at a person’s face. Without any formal medical training, His Majesty’s intuitive sense for people’s health has saved lives.

He sends an aide known affectionately as “Dr Galu,” actually an army compounder, to follow up with the patient, collect medical reports, and ensure treatment is received. Sometimes, His Majesty personally pays for the care at private clinics.

He never forgets a patient. Whether it is one year or three, he remembers names, faces, and conditions.

Over the years, the number of people helped this way has grown into the thousands.

His Majesty never seeks recognition for these quiet acts. They are simply his way of remaining in touch with his people, of serving them not through power, but through compassion.

 A Lesson in Humility

This deep compassion is something His Majesty has always instilled in his children.

During his reign, when travelling to remote villages, His Majesty would often ask one of his young princes to remove his gho and give it to a villager wearing worn out clothes. The prince would then continue the journey in shorts.

It was His Majesty’s way of teaching that true leadership begins with giving and humility.

To this day, the courtyard at Samtenling resembles an old-age home filled with attendants in their eighties who have served His Majesty since his youth. Now, it is the King who serves them  ensuring they are cared for, well-fed, and content.

The Simple Life

Despite being one of the most revered Monarchs in the world, His Majesty has never taken a holiday abroad. He finds no joy in foreign luxury and often says Bhutan is the most beautiful place on Earth.

His only travels outside the country were for official duties like SAARC summits, Non Aligned Meeting summits, coronations, and state funerals.

Samtenling itself is a cluster of log cabins, unchanged for more than 40 years. Inside, old appliances are repaired again and again rather than replaced.

His Majesty’s meals are simple and almost always the same.

His Majesty loves nature, the lakes, forests, and mountains and has passed this love on to his family. Camping, cycling, and hiking remain his preferred ways to spend time with them.

 A Father and a Grandfather

After a lifetime of service, His Majesty now enjoys more time as a father and grandfather, something that was impossible during his years on the throne. He is not just a grandfather to his 21 grandchildren, but he is their teacher and hero too.

He cycles with them, plays with them, and, on occasion, teaches them lessons in resilience.

Once, while biking together, His Majesty left the boys in the forest as dusk fell, telling them to find their own way home, a symbolic lesson in courage and self-reliance.

He is also firm about preserving culture. In his presence, everyone must speak Dzongkha, a reflection of his deep belief in the importance of language, identity, and Driglam Namzha.

A Leader

Those who meet His Majesty, whether officials or visiting foreign dignitaries, are always struck by his extraordinary grasp of world affairs. His insight into regional and global events is profound, his analyses sharp and solution-oriented.

Many have said that he could easily advise not just Bhutan, but the world. Even in retirement, His Majesty keeps a close watch on global developments, reading widely and reflecting deeply.

He has personified that leadership which is one who leads not from power but from wisdom.

A Legacy of Light

His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck retired from the throne at just 51, at the peak of his power a decision almost unheard of in history. But it was not abrupt. It was the culmination of a life’s philosophy: that leadership is about service, not self.

He handed over the reins to His Majesty The King, who today carries forward the vision of a modern, compassionate Bhutan, a living testament to his father’s legacy.

For the Great Fourth, every walk, every conversation, every act of kindness is still an act of Kingship. In the ordinariness of his days lies the extraordinary heart of a monarch who never stopped being a servant of his people. Even in retirement, His Majesty continues to rule, quietly, humbly, and profoundly  through the love and values he has sown in the hearts of his people.